Colombian President Petro warns ELN rebel attack threatens peace process
Al Jazeera
Attack on military base blamed on ELN rebels, who were engaged in peace talks until ceasefire agreement ended in August.
Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro has warned that an attack on a military base in eastern Colombia “practically closes” peace talks.
Petro late on Tuesday blamed the leftist National Liberation Army (ELN) rebel group for the attack in Puerto Jordan, in the northeastern Arauca province, earlier in the day, which killed two soldiers and injured at least 21.
“This is an attack that practically closes a peace process, with blood,” he said during a ceremony in Bogota.
The ELN fired rockets from a cargo truck loaded with explosives in what the military called the most serious attack since a bilateral ceasefire between the government and the rebel group ended in August.
The ELN, which has an estimated 6,000 fighters, is the biggest of the armed groups active in Colombia’s six-decade conflict, which has left more than 450,000 dead.
